Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer empirical insights on emerging additive manufacturing (AM) processes, barriers to their adoption and a timeline of expected impacts on the supply chain in the manufacturing industry. Design/methodology/approach A multi-stage survey study was conducted with a panel of 16 experts from industry and academia. Findings Only five out of today’s seven AM processes are of future importance, as are two emerging key processes. In total, 15 barriers to their adoption are identified, all of which are expected to be gone within ten years. Eight propositions are derived postulating as to whether and when supply chain impacts can be expected in terms of changes to supply chain structure, customer centricity, logistics and supply chain capability. Research limitations/implications “Soft” barriers are new to the literature, which has traditionally focused on “technical” barriers. Often-discussed barriers such as production speed and costs do not reflect the true concerns of the research panel. Furthermore, some of the supply chain implications discussed in both the academic literature and the media are found to be unlikely to materialize. Practical implications The study summarizes AM processes, technologies, barriers and supply chain implications solicited from experts in the field. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to make empirical contributions to a vastly conceptual discussion. It is also the first study to give insights on a timeline for barriers and supply chain implications.

Additive manufacturing (AM) appears to be a particularly attractive use case for blockchain. This research combines inductive in‐depth interviews with the Delphi method to explore what potentials blockchain technology in AM creates, which adoption barriers firms need to overcome, and how supply chains will be affected by the integration of these two potentially disruptive technologies. The results suggest opportunities that are related to intellectual property (IP) rights management, the monitoring of printed parts throughout their lifecycle, process improvements, and data security. The most important barriers for blockchain adoption in AM are an absence of blockchain‐skilled specialists on the labor market, missing governance mechanisms, and a lack of firm‐internal technical expertise. By addressing important limitations of AM, blockchain is expected to improve the competitiveness of AM in parts’ production, catalyzing the trend toward more decentralized manufacturing resulting in more agile, resilient, and flexible supply chains and reduced logistics costs. Beyond that, blockchain‐based AM platforms are expected to enhance supply chain visibility, drive supply chain digitalization, support supply chain finance, and contribute to the emergence of shared factory systems.

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Purpose This study aims to explore the service recovery paradox (SRP) in business to business (B2B) relationships. Previously, this phenomenon has been identified in consumer-facing industries. The research advances the marketing literature by highlighting the ways in which the antecedents of the service recovery paradox differ between B2B and consumer markets. Design/methodology/approach This research draws upon findings on the SRP in the consumer setting and service failure literature in business to consumer and B2B contexts. For the analysis, interview data were collected from 43 informants among clients and service providers in the aftermath of a service failure. Findings The authors propose an exploratory model of the SRP for B2B relationships. In the B2B setting the propensity of eliciting the SRP depends on (1) the characteristics of the service failure, (2) the attributes of the service recovery and (3) the shared subjective perceptions among boundary spanners. Practical implications Empowered operating-level employees, straightforward communication, immediate responses and action plans that ensure future conformance are the key factors to turn service failures into increased customer satisfaction. Originality/value This study is the first to transfer the SRP from consumer marketing into the B2B domain. Moreover, it derives an exploratory model of the SRP, which can be refined by future research.

Recent research highlights opportunities to study collaborations between established firms and startups from a buyer-supplier relationship perspective. However, before firms can leverage startups' resources and capabilities in a buyer-supplier relationship, they need to identify, evaluate, and select suitable startups as their suppliers. As prior research has only studied how buying firms select established firms as suppliers, it is unclear which processes, tools, or organizational approach firms use when selecting startup firms as suppliers. These suppliers are markedly different in that they lack organizational routines, financial resources, and operational capabilities, posing a significant risk for buying companies. This inductive, qualitative case study research collects data from 20 established buying firms and investigates how they select startups as suppliers. We first identify five design themes distinguishing buying firms' selection strategies. Based on these themes, we develop a typology of three supplier selection archetypes. The results suggest that firms that are willing and able to adapt their selection approach to startups are expected to show a higher selection performance, meaning that they are more likely to select suitable startups as suppliers. The results extend the supplier selection literature and provide new insights into the emerging field of new venture suppliers.